Woke up today and wanted to try and do something to effect the presidential race in some way.  I thought a bumper sticker might be a way and started thinking of something short and sweet while I was working out.  This is what I came up with:

7 years No Bin Laden, No Anthrax killer, No WMDs, No "last throes", ....  Say No to More Lies & Leadership Failures.  No to John McSame.

I am writing this in response to another diary I wrote titled Pro-Choice is really Pro-Irresponsibility.  One of the main reasons I wrote that diary is that the Pro-choice argument has kept me from embracing the Democratic Party more for years.  I voted Democratic in many elections of late (I also recommended my wife and two older daughters do the same) mainly because I think the Republican Party and their terrorizing of our citizens needs to be stopped.  I haven’t been totally supportive of the Democratic Party though and the Pro-choice argument is one of main reasons also, the Nazi-like attacks on people who don’t march lock-step with this view.  To me Pro-choice is really a black eye for the Democratic Party and not some kind of badge of honor that can somehow be perversely attached to the freedoms provided in the Constitution.

It really sickens me that the Democratic Party can hold the idea of being Pro-Choice as some kind of badge of honor.  Pro-choice is just some slogan someone came up with so people could feel OK when another acts irresponsibly.  Most women in this day and age should understand the outcome of having unprotected sex. Because they might have acted in the heat of the moment shouldn’t give them an excuse to kill a live fetus.  Do I think abortion should be outlawed, no.  But I also don’t think it should be so easily forgiven.  If a person does something irresponsible they should be held accountable.  For us as I society to say that killing a live fetus doesn’t mean anything seems callous to me and many others.

In Germany at a conference of the world's top security officials

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that the United States' increased use of military force is creating a new arms race, with smaller nations turning toward developing nuclear weapons.

nations "are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations."

article here

I just wanted to start off saying how very important it is with the elections coming up to keep up the attack in every way we can to offset the crap the Republicans will be throwing to do whatever they can to maintain power.

One thing I do regularly is write letters to the editor and I have been amazed at the responses I get even living in a very red suburb in Wisconsin.  I have had people call me on the phone and say how much they have liked what I have written.  The last two letters I wrote generated favorable letter to the editor responses from others who mentioned mine.  So if you think this doesn't work, think again.

Here is my lastest:  

An Oklahoma judge was sentenced to 4 years in prison on Friday for whacking on the job.  

BRISTOW, Okla. - A former judge convicted of exposing himself while presiding over jury trials by using a sexual device under his robe was sentenced Friday to four years in prison.

Donald Thompson had spent almost 23 years on the bench and had served as a state legislator before retiring from the court in 2004.

Apparently he was using a penis pump frequently during trials.

Foster told authorities that she saw Thompson use the device almost daily during the August 2003 murder trial of a man accused of shaking a toddler to death. A whooshing sound could be heard on Foster's audiotape of the trial. When jurors asked the judge about the sound, Thompson said he hadn't heard it but would listen for it.

Obviously he was to busy to busy to hear anything.

I read an article from BO (Bill O'Reilly) in my local paper and it stunk so bad I wanted to vomit.  At least he got the part in the title right but of course he passed the buck and refused to lay the blame where it should be, more on that later.  The main gist of the article was an attack on Lamont and the idiots that voted for him.

The latest causality in Iraq is Senator Joseph Lieberman, an honest man who is the victim of an emotional vote against the chaotic situation in Saddamville. As you know, Lieberman lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont, a rich guy who wants to pull American troops out of Iraq right now, the consequences be damned.

Yeah right BO, he could care less what happens.

Lieberman's defeat is a dangerous sign.

Maybe for him and the Republican parrots but certainly not for our great country, BO.

I received a questionnaire from the Heritage Foundation yesterday that I thought you all might find interesting.  I registered as a Libertarian a few years back and figure they must have gotten my name from them.  For those of you who don't know much about the Heritage Foundation these quotes should enlighten you.

Some of the finest conservative minds in America do their work in the Heritage Foundation. - Rush Limbaugh

The above quote is on the top of the Heritage Foundation About page

International law, including the United Nations Charter, recognizes the right to self-defense, even of a `pre-emptive' nature.  The idea that we should sit around waiting for the Iraqis to attack with the weapons of mass destruction they've been developing for years is ludicrous. - Heritage security analyst Jack Spencer Oct. 2002

The above quote is from a Press Release on their website.

Now that you have a better idea of whom we are dealing with on to the questionnaire which was bolded in many places as being for CONSERVATIVES AND REPUBLICANS ONLY.

I read an article from NY Times columnist Paul Krugman titled "Eating their words" a few days ago in my local Wisconsin newspaper. (can't seem to find it online?) Krugman starts

Since those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it - and since the cast of characters making pronouncements on the Middle East is very much the same as it was three or four years ago - it seems like a god idea to travel down memory lane.

The article proceeds by listing many choice quotes from the recent past and present that are important to highlight.  Some of the most special to me are listed below.

"The greatest thing to come out of (invading Iraq) for the world economy would be $20 a barrel for oil." - Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corp (which owns Fox News), February 2003

"Oil reached record $78 on Mideast conflict" - headline on www.foxnews.com, July 14

I hope Mr. Murdoch invested some of his millions on this brilliant call.

A Guest Opinon in our local paper today by Waukesha (Wisconsin) County Executive Dan Vrakas spotlighting all the good things happening in Iraq was appalling.  All I can say is no matter how much lipstick he tries to slap on the pig (Iraq) it is still a pig at this point.  Most of Dan's lipstick was pretty weak too like

... to date 2500 schools have been or are planned to be renovated or repaired and about 100,000 elementary and secondary school teachers are being or will be trained to better serve their students.

 Sounds a lot like counting your chickens before they are hatched to me.

There's more ...

Again we are barraged with one of the standard scapegoats for the Republican Party. Vice President Dick Cheney said this week, "What I find most disturbing about these stories is the fact that some of the news media take it upon themselves to disclose vital national security programs, thereby making it more difficult for us to prevent future attacks against the American people," he said. "That offends me."

What offends me is after nearly six years, Osama bin Laden is still free even with this administration operating under the notion that it's above the law.

(more of my letter to the editor from yesterday ...)

I took time today to go to a Town Hall meeting that my Congressman Sensebrenner was having in a small town here in Wisconsin.  I have never done this before and want to recommend it to any that haven't.  I imagined something much different then what occurred.  First off I was amazed at how easy it was to discuss something rationally, even if we weren't in total agreement on most of the things we discussed.

I thought you all might find this article interesting on ABC News site.  Apparently Pat Robertson has a new book.  During an interview he had this to say about it.  

"Without forgiveness ... there is no faith and no miracles. Forgiving others is not an optional extra, but the heart of the matter."

Hard to believe ABC actually said this in the article

That spirit of forgiveness has been lacking in many of his recent public statements.

After Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke, Robertson implied that it was the result of his plan to give back some land to the Palestinians.

More ABC thrashing to follow.
 

Interesting article in the LA Times today

Straining to find ground troops to maintain its force levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has begun deploying thousands of Air Force personnel to combat zones in new jobs as interrogators, prison sentries and gunners on supply trucks.

Talk about Bait and Switch.  I am sure many signed up in the Air Force to get away from any chance at hand to hand combat.  But not in Bush's military.

Some of you probably recall multiple diaries by ColdFusion04 in August dealing with a Talk Star Radio contest at a Milwaukee radio station.  Well with ColdFusion04's diaries along with the many Kossacks that voted we managed to get the only progressive talker, Nicole Devin, out of a bunch of wingnuts, to be the winner of the contest, much to the dismay of the station owner.  (Current station lineup includes Rush and Sean)

Any way it was great to see the power of DailyKos in action.  Since then I have been checking to see when the new show would start.  On the Milwaukee 1130 WISN site today there is a note that says the new show starts on Monday 10/10 from 5:30-8:30AM central time.

Be sure to listen and support this new progressive talker.  Streaming of the show is available on the site for those out of the Milwaukee listening area.

Check the video clip on the Media Matter's web site where Billy Boy O'Reily pratically cries that Media Matters is picking on him.  This guy is pathetic, especially the part where he whines that the liberals use the same talking points.

I have to disagree with you. I think Soros, his money that goes in, and then hires these assassins, does damage. I mean, these are the people who damaged Bennett. And they tried to damage me. I just -- before we get to you, Mr. Kline, I'll tell you a funny story. Had Phil Donahue on the air a couple of weeks ago. I had a shootout with him. And I come in the next day, and I get a big stack of email, of course. And you could tell the ones that were generated by the crazy left-wing websites, because the wording was all the same. Here's the wording: "We really like you, Bill, and are big fans of The Factor, but your treatment of Phil Donahue was" -- every one was worded the same. And even the misspellings were the same. Now, I don't know what crazy website it came from, but it did come from one. Now how do you see it, Mr. Kline? Are we overstating this?

The Wisconsin Republican party got deservedly humiliated when "Republican appointed U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic said investigators found no evidence of voter fraud in the Schenk case or any of the eight other cases wildly thrown around as double voting by the Republican Party of Wisconsin."
Article here

I think it is time to compile a list of the new traits of the Republican party.  I am really sick of the clowns using the term Liberal as an ugly word.  We need to all coordinate and shine a spotlight on the current traits of the Republicans and repeat them over and over like they do until the word conservative or Republican has an ugly sound to it.  Here are a few of the traits I have compiled.  Add some of your own or comment on the ones you like best.